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During Thrall's Exodus of the Horde from Lordaeron, the Horde rescued the Darkspear tribe of jungle trolls from the mysterious Sea Witch. The Darkspear trolls felt they owed Thrall and the orcs a great debt and so allied themselves with the Horde in gratitude. Their relationship with the noble orcs and tauren has begun to change the Darkspear trolls' savage natures. Darkspear trolls, however, deny their dark legacy. The Horde has taught them camaraderie, restraint and, to a lesser extent, kindness.[2]

As tribal rivalries erupted throughout the former Gurubashi Empire, the Darkspear tribe found themselves driven from their homeland in Stranglethorn Vale. Having settled in what are believed today to be the Lost Isles, the tribe soon found themselves entangled in a conflict with a band of murlocs. Their fate seemed sealed until the orcish WarchiefThrall and his band of newly freed orcs took shelter on their island home. Controlled by a Sea Witch, a group of rampaging murlocs captured the Darkspears' leader Sen'jin, along with Thrall and several other orcs and trolls. Thrall managed to free himself and others, but was ultimately unable to save the trolls' leader. Although Sen'jin was sacrificed to the Sea Witch, he was able to reveal a vision he had in which Thrall would lead the Darkspear from the island.

After returning to the island, Thrall and his followers managed to fend off further attacks by the Sea Witch and her murloc minions, and set sail for Kalimdor once again. Under the new leadership of Vol'jin, the Darkspear swore allegiance to Thrall's Horde and followed him to Kalimdor. Now considered enemies by all other trolls except the Revantusk and the Zandalari, the Darkspear are held in contempt to this day. Yet, the Darkspear have not forgotten being driven from their ancestral homes and this animosity is eagerly returned, especially towards the other jungle trolls. Having reached the orc's new homeland, Durotar, the trolls carved out another home for themselves — this time among the Echo Isles on the eastern shores of the new orc kingdom.

However, with the coming of Kul Tiras and its navy, the Darkspear were forced to retreat inland under the onslaught of the misguided commander Daelin Proudmoore. The trolls, fighting alongside their Horde brethren, defeated the enemy and reclaimed their new homeland. Shortly thereafter, a witch doctor by the name of Zalazane began using dark magic to take the minds of his fellow Darkspear. As his army of mindless followers grew, Vol'jin ordered the free trolls to evacuate, and Zalazane took control of the Echo Isles. The Darkspear have since settled on the nearby shore, naming their new village after their old leader, Sen'jin. From Sen'jin Village they, along with their allies, send forces to battle Zalazane and his enslaved army.[3]

Among the Darkspears, two philosophies hold equal sway. One focusing on strict loyalty with the horde and their customs, and the other keeping very close ties with their traditional religious and arcane practices.

Live in the Future

The Darkspears who were present when Thrall saved their tribe hold a great respect for the orc leader. Thrall's spirituality and strength intrigued them, and the trolls decided that Thrall's teachings held merit. These trolls see shamanism as a way to improve their race. They choose to live in the future. They enjoy their alliance with the Horde and support their new allies by revering what they revere.

Female trolls hold no place in regular troll society. Male trolls consider them mates, nothing more — though they honor female trolls who prove themselves in battle. Tauren (and orcs, due to a recent decree from Thrall) value their females as more than mates, and allow them to rise to positions of power. Female Darkspears find this concept interesting, and some choose to live in the future because they sense it affords them greater opportunities than standard troll culture.

Making a choice and implementing that choice are two different things, though. The Darkspears who try to live in the future struggle to reconcile their old habits with these new ways. Some come closer to the target than others, but what marks these trolls is their willingness to try.

Trolls who live in the future pursue the paths related to orcish culture such as Shamanism and Arcane study.

Honor the past

The Darkspears were in big trouble, and then Thrall saved them. The tribe swore loyalty to Thrall and joined the Horde, but some still cling to the old ways. The Darkspear value their elaborate, structured culture, but they know the Horde does not approve their alien rituals and customs. These trolls decided to do what it takes. They maintain the façade of embracing orc persisted shamanism and civility in their religious practices, but many still practice traditional savage voodoo traditions in secret, or lessen their savage practices, easing tension with non trolls. The Darkspears who have not entirely discarded their tie to voodoo don’t see themselves as betraying their Horde allies. They serve Thrall with utter loyalty, but remain pragmatic. Should the Horde fail the trolls, they have their ancestral faith to fall back on. Trolls who do what it takes also favor the witch doctor class, but carefully avoid the darker aspects of the calling (at least when other races are watching).[4]

The Darkspear tribe, although never referenced to or talked about, still worship many of the same Loa that they did when part of the Gurubashi empire.[5] They also worship Bwonsamdi, the guardian of the dead.[citation needed]

Zilzibin Drumlore - Darkspear tribe historian and ecologist. As a scholar he is an expert in many mysterious aspects of troll history, and has studied the native life of Kalimdor, making him a valuable resource of knowledge about the Insectoids.

One tribe of jungle trolls was forced to overcome its prejudices when it encountered the orcWarchief Thrall, and his mighty Horde. The trolls of the Darkspear tribe, long since exiled from their ancestral lands in Stranglethorn Vale, were nearly destroyed by a band of aquatic murlocs, but Thrall and the Horde managed to save them. In return the grateful trolls swore an oath of eternal allegiance to the Horde.

Led by the cunning Shadow Hunter, Vol'jin, the Darkspear trolls now make their home in Durotar along with their orcish allies. Their village, named after their fallen tribal elder Sen'jin, lies along the eastern coast of the harsh, rocky land. The Darkspear tribe also occupies tracks within the nearby jungles of the Echo Isles.

As part of the Horde, the trolls have extended their loyalty to the mighty Tauren, but they have little trust for the manipulative undead, whom they believe will visit only misery and strife upon their allies. It is not explicitly known what they think of the blood elves, but since the elves are addicted to and freely practice demonic magic, it is likely that the trolls do not think much higher of them than they do of the Forsaken.

Thrall helped save the tribe from murloc attacks and the Sea Witch — during which Sen'jin was killed. Sen'jin was granted a vision which showed that Thrall would lead the Island Trolls off the island and escape certain death.

Darkspear trolls have skin colors that range from pale, ghostly blue to bruised purple to sickly green. Their skin color is usually just one of those three colors, although sometimes there are trolls with mixed skin pigments but this is not so popular. Male trolls are hunched over in WoW and generally have long, protruding tusks that grow from under their upper or lower lip. Male trolls also have rather long noses and very messy, matted hair. Female trolls, on the other hand, stand up straight and erect in WoW, have rather small or squashed-in noses, and usually have hair in a wild updo or strewn across their chest in thick braids.

Darkspear trolls are often found in the company of reptiles. Their mount are raptors, they sell snakes as pets, and their shadow hunters summon cobras. According to Seer Janidi in Zabra'jin (who gives the quest Spirits of the Feralfen), the Darkspear consider the serpent to be a powerful spirit, but they disdain bird spirits as "weak, capricious, and best left to the Amani".

According to WarcraftRealms circa 2010, trolls are the third least played race in WoW, but outnumber Dwarves and Gnomes. However, by 2015 the overall population charts seem to be bugged, as trolls don't appear even though they appear more popular than goblins when restricted to Horde-only.[7] This census is self-reporting, so not necessarily very accurate. It does give some indication of popularity, though.

Some trolls are depicted without tusks. In Warcraft II only the Troll Berserker had them, Zul'jin seems to be tuskless even in WoW and in Warcraft III the troll batriders lacked tusks. [8]

When approached or attacked by members of the Alliance, both orc and troll NPCs say: "[Orcish]: Grunts! Attack!"; causing additional guards for that town or city to summon in the aid of that NPC. Troll and orc NPCs are the only two races that share a common language when making such calls-to-arms, reflecting their close loyalty and friendship.

Troll warriors, when created, are equipped with a thrown axe, making them the only warrior race to have a ranged skill when created.

One of the random jokes that players of the troll race can say is "New troll here", which is an allusion to Warcraft II: Tides of Darkness. Whenever a troll axethrower or troll berserker was created, they would say "New troll here!"